Lost in Yonkers (film)
Encyclopedia
Lost in Yonkers is a 1993 film film adaptation of the Neil Simon
play of the same name
, directed by Martha Coolidge
. It stars Irene Worth
, Mercedes Ruehl
, and Richard Dreyfuss
.
tale, Lost in Yonkers focuses on brothers Arty and Jay, who are left in the care of their Grandma Kurnitz and Aunt Bella in Yonkers, New York
by their desperate father Eddie, who needs to work as a traveling salesman to pay off debts incurred following his wife's death.
Grandma is a severe, frightfully intimidating eastern European Jewish immigrant who terrified her children as they were growing up, damaging each of them to varying degrees. Bella is a sweet but mentally slow and highly excitable woman who longs to marry an usher at the local movie house named Johnny so she can escape the oppressive household and create a life and family of her own.
Her brother Louie is a small-time, tough-talking hoodlum who is on the lam, while her sister Gert suffers from a breathing problem with causes more psychological than physical.
Missing much of the sentimentality of the plays comprising Simon's earlier Eugene Trilogy
, Lost in Yonkers climaxes with a dramatic confrontation between bitter mother and lonely daughter that creates a permanent fissure in this highly dysfunctional family
.
production, directed by Gene Saks
, opened on February 21, 1991 at the Richard Rodgers Theatre
, where it ran for 780 performances. The original cast included Irene Worth
, Mercedes Ruehl
, and Kevin Spacey
.
Neil Simon
Neil Simon is an American playwright and screenwriter. He has written numerous Broadway plays, including Brighton Beach Memoirs, Biloxi Blues, and The Odd Couple. He won the 1991 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play Lost In Yonkers. He has written the screenplays for several of his plays that...
play of the same name
Lost in Yonkers
Lost in Yonkers is a 1991 Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Neil Simon. After eleven previews, the Broadway production, produced by Emanuel Azenberg and directed by Gene Saks, opened on February 21, 1991 at the Richard Rodgers Theatre, where it ran for 780 performances...
, directed by Martha Coolidge
Martha Coolidge
Martha Coolidge is an American film director and former President of the Directors Guild of America. -Career:Born in New Haven, Connecticut, Ms. Coolidge first made her reputation by directing many award winning documentaries in New York before moving out to Hollywood in 1976. She spent several...
. It stars Irene Worth
Irene Worth
Irene Worth, CBE was an American stage and screen actress who became one of the leading stars of the English and American theatre. -Early life:...
, Mercedes Ruehl
Mercedes Ruehl
Mercedes J. Ruehl is an American theater, television and film actor.-Personal life:Ruehl was born in Jackson Heights, Queens, New York City, the daughter of Mercedes J., a school teacher, and Vincent Ruehl, an FBI agent. She was raised Catholic. Her father was of German and Irish descent and her...
, and Richard Dreyfuss
Richard Dreyfuss
Richard Stephen Dreyfuss is an American actor best known for starring in a number of film, television, and theater roles since the late 1960s, including the films American Graffiti, Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The Goodbye Girl, Whose Life Is It Anyway?, Stakeout, Always, What About...
.
Plot synopsis
A coming of ageComing of age
Coming of age is a young person's transition from childhood to adulthood. The age at which this transition takes place varies in society, as does the nature of the transition. It can be a simple legal convention or can be part of a ritual, as practiced by many societies...
tale, Lost in Yonkers focuses on brothers Arty and Jay, who are left in the care of their Grandma Kurnitz and Aunt Bella in Yonkers, New York
Yonkers, New York
Yonkers is the fourth most populous city in the state of New York , and the most populous city in Westchester County, with a population of 195,976...
by their desperate father Eddie, who needs to work as a traveling salesman to pay off debts incurred following his wife's death.
Grandma is a severe, frightfully intimidating eastern European Jewish immigrant who terrified her children as they were growing up, damaging each of them to varying degrees. Bella is a sweet but mentally slow and highly excitable woman who longs to marry an usher at the local movie house named Johnny so she can escape the oppressive household and create a life and family of her own.
Her brother Louie is a small-time, tough-talking hoodlum who is on the lam, while her sister Gert suffers from a breathing problem with causes more psychological than physical.
Missing much of the sentimentality of the plays comprising Simon's earlier Eugene Trilogy
Eugene Trilogy
The Eugene Trilogy refers to three plays written by Neil Simon: the first being Brighton Beach Memoirs, the second is Biloxi Blues, and the third being Broadway Bound...
, Lost in Yonkers climaxes with a dramatic confrontation between bitter mother and lonely daughter that creates a permanent fissure in this highly dysfunctional family
Dysfunctional family
A dysfunctional family is a family in which conflict, misbehavior, and often abuse on the part of individual members occur continually and regularly, leading other members to accommodate such actions. Children sometimes grow up in such families with the understanding that such an arrangement is...
.
Cast
- Richard DreyfussRichard DreyfussRichard Stephen Dreyfuss is an American actor best known for starring in a number of film, television, and theater roles since the late 1960s, including the films American Graffiti, Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The Goodbye Girl, Whose Life Is It Anyway?, Stakeout, Always, What About...
as Louie Kurnitz - Mercedes RuehlMercedes RuehlMercedes J. Ruehl is an American theater, television and film actor.-Personal life:Ruehl was born in Jackson Heights, Queens, New York City, the daughter of Mercedes J., a school teacher, and Vincent Ruehl, an FBI agent. She was raised Catholic. Her father was of German and Irish descent and her...
as Bella - Irene WorthIrene WorthIrene Worth, CBE was an American stage and screen actress who became one of the leading stars of the English and American theatre. -Early life:...
as Grandma - David StrathairnDavid StrathairnDavid Russell Strathairn is an American actor. He was nominated for an Academy Award for portraying journalist Edward R. Murrow in Good Night, and Good Luck...
as Johnny - Brad Stoll as Jay
- Mike DamusMike DamusMichael "Mike" Paul Damus is an American actor. He is best known for his starring role as Marty DePolo is short-lived ABC sitcom Teen Angel and co-starring in the film Lost in Yonkers. In addition, Damus also co-starred in Men, Women & Dogs and the TNT series Trust Me.-Filmography:-External links:...
as Arty
Broadway play
After eleven previews, the BroadwayBroadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
production, directed by Gene Saks
Gene Saks
Gene Saks is an American stage and film director.-Life and career:Saks was born in New York City, the son of Beatrix and Morris J. Saks...
, opened on February 21, 1991 at the Richard Rodgers Theatre
Richard Rodgers Theatre
The Richard Rodgers Theatre, is a Broadway theater in New York City, built by Irwin Chanin in 1925. When it was first opened, it was called Chanin's 46th Street Theatre. Chanin almost immediately leased it to the Shuberts, who bought the building outright in 1931 and renamed it the 46th Street...
, where it ran for 780 performances. The original cast included Irene Worth
Irene Worth
Irene Worth, CBE was an American stage and screen actress who became one of the leading stars of the English and American theatre. -Early life:...
, Mercedes Ruehl
Mercedes Ruehl
Mercedes J. Ruehl is an American theater, television and film actor.-Personal life:Ruehl was born in Jackson Heights, Queens, New York City, the daughter of Mercedes J., a school teacher, and Vincent Ruehl, an FBI agent. She was raised Catholic. Her father was of German and Irish descent and her...
, and Kevin Spacey
Kevin Spacey
Kevin Spacey, CBE is an American actor, director, screenwriter, producer, and crooner. He grew up in California, and began his career as a stage actor during the 1980s, before being cast in supporting roles in film and television...
.